Once the “real estate boom” has passed , there is less and less new housing and our homes are progressively “aging”. For this reason, there is an increase in the renovation of bathrooms, kitchens, or even buying an old house and making a complete renovation of it. When this happens, many people understand that anything that happens will be covered by home insurance, or even contract the best home insurance after the renovation. Let’s see what can happen.
Home renovation coverage in home insurance
The main purpose of our home insurance is to repair the damages that may occur in our home or those that we may cause to third parties due to the use of the same. In addition, guarantees have been progressively added, such as robbery outside the home, our civil liability outside the home, etc.
As we have said, home insurance covers damages caused by the normal use of our home. In this sense,
Renovations to our house (which involve cutting walls, replacing pipes, replacing tiling, etc.), are not considered ordinary use of the house.
This is the key to everything. For this reason, many insurance companies will have problems in covering these reforms. In the terms and conditions of the companies, we will see exclusions of this type:
- “Breakage caused by the performance of construction, painting, decoration or repair work.”
- “Breakage occurring as a result of the performance of work, handling and/or transportation.”
This is something that we must take into account when we are going to carry out an important reform in our house.
Do we assume any responsibility for a reform?
We are the “promoters” of the work, that is, we assume the cost of it. We have the initiative, even if the execution is carried out by a trade we hire.
This means that, although the builder or operator is directly responsible for the possible damage we may cause to the neighbor, we will always be vicariously liable. That is to say:
If the guild does not take charge of the claim (either because it does not have insurance, is insolvent or its insurance does not cover), we will be implicated in that claim and we will have to face the payment of the damages
Even, if there is tension with the neighbor, it is possible that although the insurance of the reformer if it is going to cover the claim, it is possible that a lawsuit arrives to us jointly with the guild. This, of first, already will suppose an economic disbursement in lawyers.
Insurance as a promoter of reforms
For all these reasons, in these cases, it is more than advisable to take out what is known as “renovation insurance”.
These are policies in which the price depends on the budget of the work. The purpose of this policy is to cover fundamentally:
- Our civil liability: the indemnities we would have to pay in your case.
- Legal defense: the disbursement of lawyers to defend us against possible claims.
If you want to receive this advice in your policies, or if you are simply going to make a reform and you want us to quote your insurance, call us or consult us.
